Crimson and Emerald
by LittleEnglishLass
Summary: He is crimson, she is sapphire. He is emerald, she is moonlight. T because of author's rampant paranoia.


**Heh. Everyone else has done one, I figured I should have a word/sentence/paragraph prompt thingy in my archives as well. :D And besides, it seemed like fun. Some ended up being short, and some I got really into and wanted to carry them on! :D**

**I haven't written for IZ for a very long time, and the fics I **_**do **_**have will be staying firmly in my documents until I get them right, so I do apologise for any rampant OOCness on Zim's part. :D It's not his fault, the poor bugger; I've done appalling, horrid things to him in the fic. No wonder he's got PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). He's traumatised like hell right now, so no sudden moves.**

**Guinevere is an OC of mine, and I'm very proud of her. No stealing. :D And no, before you lose all hope in me, she is NOT a Mary Sue. I repeat, NOT a Sue. If you've read my profile and my fic 'Zoe, meet Queen Sue', you would know I have an undying hatred for all things Sueish. Nope, in the words of my BFF who read the first chapters of the fic a while ago upon my request;**

"**Actually Zoe, I don't think she's Sueish at all. I want to see more. Gimme or I'll eat your head. This shit is serious now." **

**There you have it, words of undeniable elegance from a certain clumsy ragamuffin.**

**Anyhoo, enjoy.**

* * *

**Crimson and Emerald**

**1. Friends**

Of course, sitting here, simply _talking _to Zim without getting her throat ripped out was a triumph in itself. Now, having the courage to call them something as impossible as _'friends'_...that was another matter altogether.

**2. Island**

Guinevere ground her teeth as she watched the maddening alien march out of the room. Honestly, sometimes she just wanted to drop him on a desert island and let him wallow in his own obnoxious insanity for the rest of his miserable existence.

**3. Creamy**

Stupid human. Horrible girl.

Why did she have to be so…ugh! So distracting! She was doing it again, standing by that damn power core, the bright red of the energy within sending fiery glimmers over her creamy skin.

**4. Night**

Guinevere tried to get at least a small conversation out of him after the argument, but he was being a total git. As per 'effing usual. He was sulking on the topmost branches of a huge tree, clawing hard at the bark and snarling in his native tongue. Gwen inwardly cursed the PTSDing alien as she settled on an overturned tree trunk, the sky already beginning to darken as the chilly night swiftly rolled in.

**5. Hat**

"Well now, silly human." Zim smirked playfully, tucking a wayward curl under her hat. "After that comment, whether or not I let you live to see another dawn solely depends on how you intend to follow it up."

**6. Bow**

Guinevere watched, wide eyed as Zim ran his hand down the bow, picking it up and testing the draw on it, before humming in approval and holding it out for her to inspect and admire. It was beautiful, though obviously not of human design. No human could have even dreamed up something so elegantly deadly.

**7. Hammer**

Guinevere stayed stock still, pure terror ripping thorough her. It was happening again. She saw the twitching of his hand, the tension in his shoulders, and the steel emotionless void of those crimson eyes as he grasped the handle of the hammer. One wrong move and she wouldn't even have time to run. He could kill her and not even bat an eyelid.

**8. Shorts**

_It's too hot, she says. _Zim thought. He cast a dispassionate eye over her flimsy clothing, a blue tank top and some white shorts. _Humans are so very weak, unable to stand the slightest change in their environment. How they've managed to survive this long is a reason that eludes even me!_

**9. Armour**

He was like a knight in some ways, Guinevere thought, watching the way he drew and fired the bow she couldn't even draw past a few inches, showing just how strong those slender limbs really were. He was bred for war, he was a uniform, lethal machine created only for battle and destruction. But under that layer of icy, virtually unyielding armour, there was a vulnerable and weak side that craved the tender, healing attentions of a gentle soul. It was a side to him she hoped he would trust her enough to reveal one day.

**10. Weary**

The constant soft whirr of machinery and the ever so soft rustle of his clothes as he worked quickly sent Guinevere into a weary stupor. Without thinking, she let her head fall onto his shoulder. He jerked away instantly, a silent warning in his eyes that softened only very slightly at the sight of her exhausted state.

**11. Feline**

There was elegance and grace in even the simplest of his movements. His impossibly slender limbs and body shaped almost like a swan's neck swayed and bent in the way only felines could. It only served to intrigue her more.

**12. Echo**

Zim took an angry swipe at the wall, his claws leaving deep gouges in the carved stone. He was NOTHING! He was but an echo of who he was before. The _Almighty _Zim was nothing but an echo! A hand gently grasped his arm, and with an enraged snarl, he turned and slammed her into the wall. Breathing hard, he somehow managed not to snap her frail body in half, and with shaking hands…let go.

**13. Death**

Death was a part of life. Zim knew that. But, he just couldn't shake the nightmare image of her lifeless face from his mind. He'd been so close last time, so _close _to simply slicing open her stomach and leaving her to die. With a howl of rage, he smacked his head on the wall. He hated how close he could be to killing her sometimes. Hated it. Was terrified of it.

**14. Ice**

He was ice sometimes, so cold and unnervingly detached. It scared her. Scared her how he could so easily switch, how effortless it would be for him to simply reach out and crush her skull if he felt like it.

**15. Music**

She was laughing again. That soft noise was like a symphony, a wonderful music that could soothe the beast festering beneath the surface of his cool, aloof demeanour. How he loathed it sometimes.

**16. Lesson**

"So, let me get this straight…you're…um, not male?" Guinevere furrowed her brow in a vain attempt to understand. "You seem very male to me. I mean, the whole thing about not having genders, but still actually having them at the same time is…well…hard to comprehend."

Zim sighed and accepted defeat. It was useless trying to explain to a human. This lesson was going nowhere.

**17. Weather**

Cold, wet, hot, windy…this stupid little planet couldn't make its mind up about what it wanted its climate to be. Figures, the planet itself would be as awkward as the beings that inhabited it. Zim gave a humourless laugh, shaking his head at Guinevere, who looked up at him with curious eyes. Perhaps the changes in the weather wouldn't be so hard to endure this year.

**18. Unexpected**

The vial contained a strange orangey mixture that glistened and bubbled as though boiling, but was cold to the touch. Guinevere watched in fascination as Zim slowly took out a tiny amount in some kind of pipette, smiled a little at her, and dropped it into the petri dish. The result was spectacular. The whole thing instantly frothed up like cola and Mentos, covering the two of them in sticky, sweet smelling foam.

"Well…that was unexpected." Zim deadpanned somewhere on her left.

Guinevere laughed so hard her stomach hurt.

**19. Relationship**

Guinevere just didn't understand why Zim was so het up about Josh asking her out. Sure, she'd noticed he'd been getting increasingly possessive recently, but she hadn't expected him to get so…angry over it. He'd never shown any kind of interest in a relationship with her. She sighed. It wasn't even like she'd said yes; in fact she had politely declined, but apparently that didn't make any difference to Zim, as he was demonstrating by shoving her up against the wall, trapping her with his arms.

**20. Fresh**

Guinevere felt her legs ache as she rounded the corner at lightning speed. She knew, oh she just _knew. _Sure enough, Zim and Dib were locked in combat. Zim's body was tense and ready to spring, the fresh wounds on his arm leaking his odd, clear, jelly-like blood. Dib merely growled under his breath, hand covering his own injuries. It seemed Zim had gotten a few good punches in too.

**21. Foreigner**

It wasn't technically a lie.

In a way, Zim supposed he _was _a foreigner, albeit on a galactic scale. He smirked. The humans had almost given him a cover story on a silver platter.

**22. Green**

Zim carried Guinevere's unconscious body out of the smoke filled room, easily dodging the flames and sprinting out the door. He slowed down when they reached the med-bay, and placed her on the bed. He took a needle from inside his PAK and quickly inserted the liquid into Guinevere's vein. Soon after she opened her eyes blearily, barely conscious, she muttered something about green being a pretty colour before promptly passing out again. Zim shook his head, a grin starting to form on his face.

**23. Blue**

Lots of things were that lovely colour blue, Zim supposed, losing focus from his work for the fourth time. The sky, flowers, Guinevere's eyes…a sudden clatter made him jump as he realised he'd dropped the weapon he was working on. Shaking his head sharply to clear it, he inwardly chided himself. He, a member of the mighty and proud Irken race, was getting distracted by a silly little human.

**24. Lost**

"Are you sure this is the way?"

"Of course, pitiful human, we Irkens have a far superior sense of direction than you pitiful excuses for lifeforms."

There was a pause, before Guinevere raised an eyebrow and placed a hand on her un-bandaged hip with a wry smile playing over her lips.

"Zim? We're lost aren't we?"

"Oh, absolutely."

**25. Kids**

Guinevere smiled at the scene in front of her. Her two year old niece, Katie, was standing in front of Zim, windmilling her arms about, and giggling all the while. Zim had his hands on his hips, a scowl decorating his face as he looked down at the tiny brunette.

"But _why?_" The child asked, a follow on from some question she was obviously bothering the alien with.

"Just…because!" Zim threw his arms up in frustration and sighed heavily when the child only continued to giggle. "It just…_does _okay!?"

Katie burst into laughter and latched herself onto Zim's leg. He flinched violently, but quickly recovered his composure. He stared down at the bright eyes of the child, and suddenly found himself reminded of GIR. Expression softening, he gently picked the young girl up in his arms and smiled at her.

_Kids. _Guinevere thought. _They bring out the best in everyone._

**26. Pen**

Guinevere scowled at the line of marker pen on her cheek. The stupid practice of 'penning' was really starting to annoy her. She just didn't understand how people could be so immature as to randomly walk up to people and draw on their faces. She roughly scrubbed at her face with the baby wipes, and in her ire, didn't see Zim approach from behind until he tapped her shoulder. She glared at his reflection on the glass. No doubt he was here to tease her about how slow and sluggish her race was.

"Not now Zim." She snapped. "You dare say anything, and I-"

He cut her off by placing one of his impossibly slender fingers over her lips. She stayed stock still. He'd never done anything like that before. To her surprise, he quietly took the wipe from her, and began to rub it in gentle little circles over the offending line of ink. She tried not to notice the hurt look in those ruby orbs.

**27. Letter**

Zim just didn't understand. He racked his brain in search of the answer, but nothing that came to mind was even vaguely useful. He stood awkwardly in the doorway, eyeing the sobbing figure on the couch with a wary gaze. After about ten minutes, he slowly walked over to her and knelt down, hands taking hers and gazing imploringly up at the red, puffy and tear-stained face he'd come to know so well.

"Gwen…I'm…Zim is s-sorry." He almost whispered.

She blinked at him. "What d'you mean? Sorry…for-for what?"

"For whatever it is Zim has done to make you cry."

She only sobbed harder, and he panicked slightly. Oh Irk help him, what could he have possibly done to upset her so much?

"It's not you Zim." Guinevere said, gently cupping his cheek. "It's just…I got a letter. About my dad. He's…he's gone Zim. H-he died a few days ago."

**28. Snazzy**

Guinevere, even in her grieving state, could see how much Zim had tried to cheer her up. He'd let her hug him as she sobbed into his shoulder, careful to avoid getting her tears on his skin. He _never _hugged anyone. He'd played with Katie in another room to give her some time alone. But, probably the sweetest thing of all, he had vanished for a few hours and came back with what had once been a snazzy bunch of flowers, but after the fight with Dib on the way back, the poor plants had bent stems and barely any petals. Maybe he needed to work on his handling of delicate items, but Guinevere didn't really mind. It's the thought that counts.

**29. Grumpy**

Zim sat cross legged on the floor, feeling utterly ridiculous. Katie had decided he would make a good wizard, and had plonked some outlandish blue hat with silver stars stuck all over it on his head, catching one of his antennae in the process. Wincing as he carefully tucked the now-aching sensory appendage under the hat, he remembered a similar incident many years ago with a certain robot and some plastic piggies. Katie reminded him so very much of that stupid little droid. He'd even go so far as to say he…missed GIR. Maybe he did.

However, Katie was quickly reminding him of the many reasons _why_ he'd put GIR into suspended animation in the first place. Said child was kneeling in his lap, gazing up at him with those eyes of hers.

"You got face soooooo grumpy Zimmy!" She giggled and clutched at the front of his uniform with her sticky hands. "Youse grumpy pants! Zimmy youse a grumpy fishy!"

Zim's eye twitched a little.

**30. Pretty.**

Katie looked up at Zimmy, who was busy with something on the table. She liked him. She liked him a lot. Sure, he was always so grouchy and cross at everything, but she thought he was really pretty. She liked the green of his skin, and the red eyes and the way the pointy things on his head moved around. He was pretty. Katie put her dolls away in their box thoughtfully. Barbie looked very silly to her now.

**31. Magic**

"Magic does not exist."

"Does."

"It does not."

"Does so! Does! Does!"

"Katie, for the last time, it does _not_ exist."

"Okidoki then Smarty Pants, how does babies happen then?"

The Almighty Zim was struck silent for a few moments, a bemused expression on his face, staring down at the child sat on his lap.

"Uh…magic?…"

**32. Alone**

Almost constantly being with Zim took its toll. Guinevere would spend most of the nights trying to convince him to go and recharge his PAK, and the rest only daring to sleep sparingly in case of one of his night terrors taking over. The days could be tiring. He would have his bad days, where he would snap and snarl at the slightest thing, destroying random objects in one of his terrifying rages, fingers twitching as the darkness within threatened to escape. He would also have his good days, where he would smile and hold a decent conversation while he peacefully tinkered away in his lab, or put up with Katie for a few hours without whining. Guinevere smiled to herself as she settled in her sitting room with a good book. Though she loved that crazy alien, sometimes it was nice just to be alone.

**33. Smirk**

She despised it when he did that. She hated it when he would look at her and do that arrogant little smirk whenever he proved her wrong, or showed her something she thought was amazing.

**34. Red**

Guinevere treasured his eyes. They were so beautiful, so inhuman, so…alien. She loved looking up into those large crimson orbs, taking in every detail of the odd, jelly like pink circles just under the first layer of…whatever it was. A light pink colour, one big, one small, with swirling liquid blooming into patterns beneath the red hue that could deepen and lighten with his mood.

**35. Fireplace**

It had been Katie's idea to have Computer install a fireplace in the base. She wanted to hang stockings on it and put homemade Christmas cards on the mantelpiece. Guinevere made a mental note to thank her niece as she lay quite comfortably on the floor in front of the quietly flickering flames, basking in the wonderful golden glow they cast over the darkened room. She was tucked next to the relaxed form of Zim as he worked on some new designs for something. She shifted her head slightly on his shoulder, so she could see his face. He smiled down at her and ever so gently, very carefully, stroked her cheek with his free hand.

**36. Kiss**

She didn't quite know how they'd managed to get in this position, but she wasn't about to complain. One moment they'd been sitting in front of the fire, enjoying the warmth and comfort it brought, the next she was straddling his lap, lips pressed hard to his own sort, while he tensed and froze before returning the favour full force mere seconds later, toppling them both into a tangled mess of limbs on the rug. He was unsure at first, but boy was he a fast learner. He soon had her blushing, and she could feel that smirk she hated so much slide onto his face.

Jerk.

**37. Chocolate**

Guinevere glared at the alien in front of her. He was waving her chocolate bar in front of her teasingly, dancing effortlessly out of the way whenever she lunged for it.

"Give it back Zim!" She laughed, going for it again and missing by millimetres, as per his intention. "Give it! Or I'll…I'll make Katie dress you up like a fairy princess!"

Zim however only gave her an impish grin and ran out of the room, cackling in pure mischief at her scandalised face. Oh it was _on_.

**38. Delicious**

Zim smiled to himself, wrapping his arms around his beloved human, sinking into her embrace and kissing her deeply, moulding his lipless mouth to hers and exploring her with his tongue. He broke off, nuzzling her gently and laughing when he realised something.

"What?" Guinevere asked. "What's funny?"

"Nothing." Zim replied. "It's just I've been trying to think of a word to describe you all day, and I've finally got it."

"What is it?" she laughed.

Zim pulled her in for another kiss that left her gasping for air, before placing his forehead to hers and smiling at her blush.

"Delicious."

**39. Ravenous**

"Why are we going here again?" Zim whined as his human practically dragged him to the café by his collar.

"Because I'm hungry Zim, that's why." Was the simple response. "Deal with it Martian boy."

Zim sighed heavily. Ignoring the Martian jibe, he gave up and followed her through the doors. While the mere smell of most human food was enough to make him gag, he would battle and endure the repulsiveness if it meant his Gwen could settle her ravenous hunger.

**40. Masquerade **

Guinevere hated lying to her mother about where she was all the time. She really dreaded having to keep adding to the masquerade. But what was she supposed to say?

_Sorry, I won't make dinner tonight, by that time I'll probably be having a fantastic make-out session with my alien lover in his underground base. _

Or maybe slightly less crude.

_Yeah, about that family thing. I can't make it. My extraterrestrial boyfriend says he'll take me to see Saturn's rings up close and personal. _

**41. Shy**

Zim smiled to himself. He loved it when his Gwen fell asleep in his arms. He loved it when she would go all shy at the invitation, a blush forming on her cheeks. He loved the feel of her slow, relaxed breathing and the way she would frown in her sleep, as though trying to figure out something.

**42. Home**

"Mum, I'm back!"

Guinevere shook her wet hair from her eyes, closing the door on the downpour outside. Dropping her umbrella in the stand, she stumbled into the sitting room and crashed down on the couch. God, it felt good to be home.

**43. Hug**

Zim was upset. As much as he tried to hide it, she knew. She could tell by the slumped shoulders, and the way he was slowly entwining his fingers together. Guinevere sighed; she knew how much turmoil he was in at the moment. After the removal of the emotional inhibitors in his PAK, he'd been able to really _feel _for the very first time. It was going to be rough for a while until he learned how to deal with the changes. Walking swiftly across the room, Guinevere gently placed a hand on his shoulder, letting him know she was there. He turned, a small smile gracing over his strange features. Guinevere kissed his forehead, and wrapped her arms over his shoulders. Zim leaned into the hug with barely a grimace, and sighed in contentment.

Contentment. Now that was a good feeling.

**44. Reverie**

Zim frowned at the design specs he'd drawn up last night. Everything seemed to be in place, but he just couldn't fathom why the last equation gave such a small answer, when it clearly should have been much bigger. Numbers and symbols whizzed around in his head, the correct ones slotting into place and offering him the answer. He was brought out of his reverie by the clatter of little feet on the metal floor. He braced for the incoming brunette missile.

"ZIMMY!"

Katie threw herself at his legs, toppling them both over into a heap.

**45. History**

Zim smiled at his little student, taking a small sip of the sugary drink he had mixed up from the supplies he'd bought from a passing cargo ship. Gunievere had mistaken a jug of it for juice, and he'd had to quickly grab it off her. There was no way humans would be able to tolerate that amount of glucose, it would have been utterly toxic.

"I think I get this. A little bit at least." Guinevere frowned at the strange symbols she was attempting to learn. "This says…my name right?"

"As close as is possible to it, yes." He answered, putting the cup down and tapping the paper. "Irkens do not have such long names, they're usually only about one or two syllables."

"Why is that?" Guinevere asked, looking up from her work. "I always wondered…"

Zim took another sip of his drink, thinking back to the days as a smeet when such things were automatically downloaded into his PAK, which mainly served as a storage facility these days.

"Hmm. I believe it has something to do with the Irken spoken language." Zim mused, placing his chin in his hand. "As you once described, to a human it resembles crickets or insects, or short bursts of noise in varying pitch. It would be very hard to keep that up for a length of time during the early stages of evolution. So I suppose over the course of history, as with humans, the language adapted easier ways of communicating. Thus, names, a way of identification, simply got shorter and shorter."

**46. Light**

The pale yellow flowers gently glowed in the early morning sun, the light still a golden red from the sunrise. The long white curtains of petals billowed out a little in the soft breeze that played tunes on the leaves and brushed fondly across the faces of the couple lying asleep under a willow, intertwined together in an embrace that spoke only of bliss.

**47. Love**

Guinevere yawned and brushed her tangled hair out of her eyes, stumbling tiredly towards the impossibly slender figure standing with his back to her, working away quietly at the computer.

"Zim?" She called, before breaking off with another huge yawn.

He turned, ruby orbs gently simmering above that smile she knew so well now. She wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her head into the warm softness of his chest. He patted the top of her head, a light laugh escaping him as he tilted her chin up. She welcomed the kiss, sinking eagerly into his embrace, pretending to be cross the moment he pulled away.

"I love you, y'know." Guinevere said after a moment, nuzzling into his neck. "My dippy Martian moron."

"I love you too." Zim grinned, "My pitiful excuse for a lifeform."

**48. Fantasy**

Sometimes, Guinevere wondered if she was having a very long, very detailed dream. It seemed so unreal. Just four years ago, she was a boringly average high-school monkey…and now? Now she was living a fantasy most could never even imagine, a heaven nobody else would even experience. And it was all thanks to one random act of kindness.

**49. Animals**

Guinevere cried silently to herself as she looked, her heart slowly breaking at the evidence of such torture. He sighed softly as she began to trace the pale, splintered lines. The large gashes where they'd cut him open, the needle pricks where they'd taken samples, the stitches from god-only-knows what other horror he had endured in that lab. Worse, as her gaze travelled further, to the older scars. Marks left by whips, beatings and smacks from the heavily armoured hands of cruel abusers, the hands of his own damn people.

They were all animals.

**50. Stars**

There were so many of them, all sparkling and glowing in the velvet depths of space. So beautiful and constant, she almost couldn't look away. But, her gaze easily fell back to the figure enveloping her waist, planting gentle kisses on her cheek and forehead. He'd shown her this, said it was the best night sky in the universe. For once, he hadn't been exaggerating. Turning around, she held him tightly to her, their silhouettes framed by the countless stars of the cosmos.

**And there you go. :) Some little teasers of the fic.**

**You liked? You no liked?**


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